In 1975 and 1976, Marat Moore worked as a reporter for the Johnson City Press-Chronicle. It was while working for the Press-Chronicle that she first went to the coal mines to cover the 1976 Scotia mine disaster in Letcher County, Kentucky.
This experience sparked her interest in the people who work in the mines. Shortly thereafter, she worked for two years as a VISTA volunteer in Minga County, West Virginia. Moore then went to work as a miner in the United States Steel No. 20 mine in Thacker, West Virginia for approximately seven months. These experiences inspired Moore to learn more about women in coal mining. After leaving the mines, she worked as a freelance writer and photographer while continuing her research on women coal miners. In 1983, she moved to Washington, D. C. to assume her present position as writer and photographer for The United Mine Workers of America.
From the description of Marat Moore collection, 1980-1986. (East Tennessee State University). WorldCat record id: 213435664